154 RUSSIA - Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow (UNESCO)

From the 13th century to the founding of St Petersburg, the Moscow Kremlin was directly and tangibly associated with every major event in Russian history. The Kremlin contains within its walls a unique series of masterpieces of architecture and the plastic arts - religious monuments of exceptional beauty such as the Church of the Annunciation, Cathedral of the Dormition, Church of the Archangel and the bell tower of Ivan Veliki, and palaces such as the Great Palace of the Kremlin, which comprises within its walls the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin and the Teremnoi Palace. On Red Square is Saint Basil the Blessed, still a major edifice of Orthodox art. Russian architecture was clearly affected many times in its history by influences emanating from the Kremlin. A particular example is the Italian Renaissance. The Kremlin of Moscow, which according to chronicles dates from 1156, contains an ensemble of monuments of outstanding quality. Ever since the establishment of the Principality of Moscow in 1263 and the transfer to Moscow of the seat of Vladimir's Metropolitan in 1328, this was the centre of both temporal and spiritual power. Some of these original buildings border Cathedral Square, others, such as the Nativity of the Virgin (1393), were incorporated into the Great Palace when it was rebuilt. The nucleus expanded northward with the palace of the Patriarchs and the Church of the Twelve Apostles, erected in the 17th century, and especially with the Arsenal of Peter the Great which fills the north-west angle of the enceinte. The triangular palace of the Senate (today the seat of the Council of Ministers) was built by Kazakov for Empress Catherine II in the north-east sector between the Arsenal and the monasteries of the Miracle and of the Ascension, two splendid structures that were razed in 1932. In the south-east sector Kazakov built another smaller palace for the empress, known as the Nicholas palace, and also destroyed in 1932.

Red Square is closely associated with the Kremlin, lying beneath its east wall. At its south end is the famous Cathedral of St Basil the Blessed, one of the most beautiful monuments of Orthodox art. It was originally one of a pair of churches, the other being the Cathedral of Kazan, erected in 1633 in the vast open area bordering the 'Goum' by Prince Pozarsky to commemorate the victory over the Poles. It disappeared in the early 1930s along with several convents in the neighbouring area (Saviour-behind-the-Images, St Nicholas, Epiphany). With its triangular enceinte pierced by five gates and reinforced with 29 towers, the Kremlin preserves the memory of the wooden fortifications erected by Yuri Dolgoruki around 1156 on the hill at the confluence of the Moskova and Nieglinnaya rivers (the Alexander Garden now covers the latter). By its layout and its history of transformations (in the 14th century Dimitri Donskoi had an enceinte of logs built, then the first stone wall), it is the prototype of the Kremlin, the citadel at the centre of old Russian towns, such as Pskov, Tula, Kazan or Smolensk. The influence of the Kremlin style was felt when Rudolfo Fioravanti built the Cathedral of the Dormition (1475-79), and grew stronger with the Granovitaya Palata (Hall of Facets, 1487-91) by Marco Ruffo and Pietro Antonio Solario as well as in the towers of the fortified enceinte, built during the same period by Solario using principles established by Milanese engineers (the Nikolskaya and the Spasskaya both date from 1491). The Renaissance expression was even clearer in the classic capitals and shells of the Church of the Archangel reconstructed from 1505 to 1509 by Alevisio Novi.

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lavander (Postcrossing Forum) sent from Moscow (Russia) on 03.01.2014

153 ARGENTINA - Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba (UNESCO)

The Jesuit buildings and ensembles of Córdoba and the estancias are exceptional examples of the fusion of European and indigenous values and cultures during a seminal period in South America. The Jesuits were late in arriving in the Spanish American colonies, having been preceded by other orders such as the Franciscans and Dominicans. However, the southern part of the continent was still being explored in the late 16th century, providing opportunities for the Jesuits. The Spanish monk Diego de Torres was sent by the order to organize the new Province of Paraguay in 1607 (itinerant missions had already been operating in the region since 1588). Missions were sent from Córdoba, the centre of the new province, to set up colleges and preach the Jesuit message. Córdoba itself, established by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera in 1573, was laid out on the standard Spanish colonial chequerboard pattern. In common with the other orders, the Jesuits were allocated one of the 70 blocks of the original city. The Jesuit Block in Córdoba contains the core buildings of the Jesuit system: the university, the church and residence of the Society of Jesus, and the college. The National University of Córdoba (formerly the Colegio Máximo of the Society of Jesus) is arranged round a central open space (originally a botanical garden), and constructed in stone and brick, with spacious colonnades around the courtyard. The Society of Jesus Church is a massive domed structure with two squat towers at the west end, built principally in stone, with brick in the upper levels. It is a single-nave building, the interior is richly decorated, the retablo of the main altar and the pulpit being outstanding examples of Baroque. As in the university, the buildings of the Colegio Nacional de Nuestra Señora de Montserrat are disposed round two open spaces. It is built in the same style as the other structures in the Jesuit Block.

The five estancias illustrate the unique religious, social and economic experiment carried out in the world for a period of over 150 years in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Alta Gracia estancia originally comprised a church, the priests' residence, quarters for the slaves and workers (demolished), cattle pens, vegetable gardens (missing), a textile mill, a reservoir and other mills. The estancia is in the heart of the town, with two spacious patios. The two buildings of the residence and the church form three sides of a square patio, the fourth being closed by a high wall pierced by the main entrance. The Santa Catalina estancia is a rural establishment in the beautiful landscape of the Córdoba sierras, made up of a church, the priests' residence, workers' quarters, the novices' house (now ruined), a mill and a reservoir. The ground plan, the largest of all the estancias , is in the form of three patios, the central of which is the main one. The church, a Latin cross in plan, has an imposing Baroque facade. The components of the rural Jesús María estancia are identical with those of Santa Catalina. Cloisters enclose two sides of the central patio, the others being formed by a storage building and a high stone wall. Furthest from Córdoba is the rural estancia of Candelaria. Unlike the others, it is located in a sheltered part of the region. It is smaller than the others, consisting of a chapel, priests' residence, workers' quarters (now demolished) and cattle pens. By contrast, the Caroya estancia is an imposing ensemble, in a more luxuriant landscape. Its mill and reservoir are now ruined, but the patio, surrounded by cloisters and quarters for the boarders of the Colegio Nacional de Nuestra Señora de Montserrat, is striking in its proportions and dimensions.

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Rodrigo Meneces Bustillo (direct swap) sent from Altamira (Argentina) on 12.12.2013

152 CZECH REPUBLIC - Litomyšl Castle (UNESCO)

Litomyšl Castle is an outstanding and immaculately preserved example of the arcade castle, a type of building first developed in Italy and modified in the Czech lands to create an evolved form of special architectural quality. It illustrates in an exceptional way the aristocratic residences of central Europe in the Renaissance and their subsequent development under the influence of new artistic movements. There has been a settlement since at least the 10th century at Litomyšl, which is located at an important communications junction on the main road between Bohemia and Moravia, with its fortified core on the hill where the castle now stands. A document of 1398 contains the first reference to an 'old palace' and castle at Litomyšl. Archaeological and historical investigations have revealed remnants of the medieval structure beneath and within the Renaissance castle. In 1425 the town was conquered after a siege by the Hussites. Restoration was undertaken at the end of the Hussite Wars by the new owners of Litomyšl, the Kostka family of Postupice. It was damaged by fire in 1460, in 1546 and it was almost completely gutted after a third fire, in 1560. The ruined structure was granted in 1567 to the Vratislav family of Pernštejn, who received a royal grant to reconstruct it. Work began in 1568 under the supervision of Jan Baptista Avostalis (Giovanni Battista Avostalli), who was joined by his brother Oldřich (Ulrico). Most of the work had been completed by 1580. The architect František Maximilián Kaňka was responsible for considerable modifications from 1719 onwards in the High Baroque style. Major alterations took place in the interior in 1792-96, to the designs of Jan Kryštof Habich, but he was careful to preserve the fine Renaissance gables. Since that time there have been no changes of any consequence in the structure, design or decoration of the castle.

Litomyšl Castle was originally a Renaissance arcade-castle of the type first developed in Italy and then adopted and greatly developed in central Europe in the 16th century. Its design and decoration are particularly fine, including the later High Baroque features added in the 18th century. The castle is a four-winged, three-storeyed structure with an asymmetrical disposition. The western wing is the largest, whereas the southern wing is no more than a two-storeyed arcaded gallery to close the square second courtyard (a feature that is unique to Litomyšl). This groin-vaulted arcading continues round the western and eastern sides of the courtyard. The south-eastern corner of the eastern wing contains the castle chapel. Of the features in the interior of the castle one of the most striking is the fine neoclassical theatre from 1796-97 in the western wing. Constructed entirely of wood, it can seat 150 spectators in nine loggias and its lower floor. The original painted decoration of the auditorium, stage decorations, and stage machinery have survived intact. The Renaissance main staircase of the castle is located in this wing, which houses some finely proportioned Renaissance rooms decorated for the most part in neoclassical style in the 18th century. The other two wings have comparable interiors, basically Renaissance in form and with lavish late Baroque or neoclassical ornamentation in the form of elaborate plasterwork and wall and ceiling paintings. The paintings simulate three-dimensional compositions with ornamental mouldings from Roman antiquity. The paintings are coordinated from one room to the next. The buildings associated with the castle were all built or rebuilt during the course of the modifications that the castle itself underwent over time, and this is reflected in their architectural styles. Among the ancillary buildings, the most interesting is the Brewery, which lies to the south of the first courtyard. Originally constructed as a counterpart to the castle, with sgraffito decoration, it was substantially reconstructed after the 1728 fire and received what is its present appearance, which blends elements of high Baroque and neoclassicism, after the 1775 fire.

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Petr Wohlmuth (direct swap) sent from Prague (Czech Republic) on 15.02.2014

151 SOUTH KOREA - Pungmul, Korean traditional Dance

Pungmul is a Korean folk music tradition that includes drumming, dancing, and singing. Most performances are outside, with dozens of players, all in constant motion. Pungmul is rooted in the dure (collective labor) farming culture. It was originally played as part of farm work, on rural holidays, at other village community-building events, and to accompany shamanistic rituals, mask dance dramas, and other types of performance. During the late 1960s and 1970s it expanded in meaning and was actively used in political protest during the pro-democracy movement, although today it is most often seen as a performing art. Older scholars often describe this tradition as nongak, a term meaning "farmers' music" whose usage arose during the colonial era (1910–45). The Cultural Heritage Administration of South Korea uses this term in designating the folk tradition as an Important Intangible Cultural Property. Opposition from performers and scholars toward its usage grew in the 1980s because colonial authorities attempted to limit the activity to farmers in order to suppress its use and meaning among the colonized. It is also known by many synonymous names throughout the peninsula.

Drumming is the central element of pungmul. Each group is led by a kkwaenggwari (RR- ggwaenggwari) (small handheld gong) player, and includes at least one person playing janggu (hourglass drum), buk (barrel drum), and jing (gong). Wind instruments (taepyeongso, also known as hojeok, senap, or nalari, and nabal) sometimes play along with the drummers. Following the drummers are dancers, who often play the sogo (a small drum without enough resonance to contribute to the soundscape significantly) and tend to have more elaborate—even acrobatic—choreography, particularly if the sogo-wielding dancers also manipulate the sangmo ribbon-hats. In some regional pungmul types, japsaek (actors) dressed as caricatures of traditional village roles wander around to engage spectators, blurring the boundary between performers and audience. Minyo (folksongs) and chants are sometimes included in pungmul, and audience members enthusiastically sing and dance along. Most minyo are set to drum beats in one of a few jangdan (rhythmic patterns) that are common to pungmul, sanjo, p'ansori (RR-pansori), and other traditional Korean musical genres. Pungmul performers wear a variety of colorful costumes. A flowery version of the Buddhist kkokkal is the most common head-dress. In an advanced troupe all performers may wear sangmo, which are hats with long ribbon attached to them that players can spin and flip in intricate patterns powered by knee bends.

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My dear friend Jack sent it from Seoul (Korea, South). Thanks Jack 

150 PHILIPPINES - Rice Terraces of the Philippines Cordilleras (UNESCO)

The rice terraces of the Philippines Cordilleras are living cultural landscapes devoted to the production of one of the world's most important staple crops, rice. They preserve traditional techniques and forms dating back many centuries, still viable today. At the same time they illustrate a remarkable degree of harmony between humankind and the natural environment of great aesthetic appeal, as well as demonstrating sustainable farming systems in mountainous terrain, based on a careful use of natural resources. They are the only monuments in the Philippines that show no evidence of having been influenced by colonial cultures. Owing to the difficult terrain, the Cordillera tribes are among the few peoples of the Philippines who have successfully resisted foreign domination and preserved their authentic tribal culture. The history of the terraces is intertwined with that of its people, their culture, and their traditional practices. The terraces are the only form of stone construction from the pre-colonial period. The Philippines alone among south-east Asian cultures is a wholly wood-based one: unlike Cambodia, Indonesia, or Thailand, in the Philippines both domestic buildings and ritual structures such as temples and shrines were built from wood, a tradition that has survived in the terrace hamlets. Terracing began in the Cordilleras some 2,000 years ago, although scholars disagree about its original purpose. It is evidence of a high level of knowledge of structural and hydraulic engineering on the part of those who built the terraces. The knowledges and practices, supported by rituals, involved in maintaining the terraces are transferred orally from generation to generation, without written records. Taro was the first crop when they began to be used for agriculture, later to be replaced by rice, which is the predominant crop today.

The terraces are situated at altitudes between 700 m and 1,500 m above sea level. There are four clusters of the best preserved terraces in the region, with its basic elements of a buffer ring of private forests (muyong ), terraces, village and sacred grove. Terraced rice fields are not uncommon in Asia. To contain the water needed for rice cultivation within the paddies, even gently rolling terrain must be terraced with stone or mud walls. High-altitude paddies must be kept wet and have to rely upon a man-made water-collecting system. The principal differences between the Philippines terraces and those elsewhere are their higher altitude and the steeper slopes. The high-altitude cultivation is based on the use of a special strain of rice, which germinates under freezing conditions and grows chest-high, with non-shattering panicles, to facilitate harvesting on slopes that are too steep to permit the use of animals or machinery of any kind. Construction of the terraces is carried out with great care and precision. An underground conduit is placed within the fill for drainage purposes. The groups of terraces blanket the mountainsides, following their contours. Above them, rising to the mountain-tops, is the ring of private woods (muyong ), intensively managed in conformity with traditional practices, which recognize a total ecosystem which assures an adequate water supply to keep the terraces flooded. Water is equitably shared, and no single terrace obstructs the flow on its way down to the next terrace below. There is a complex system, of dams, sluices, channels and bamboo pipes, communally maintained, which drain into a stream at the bottom of the valley. The villages or hamlets are associated with groups of terraces, and consist of groups of single-family tribal dwellings which architecturally reproduce the people's spatial interpretation of their mountain environment. A steeply pitched thatched pyramidal roof covers a wooden one-room dwelling, raised above the ground on four posts and reached by a ladder which is pulled up at night. Clusters of dwellings form small hamlets of interrelated families, with a centrally located ritual rice-field as their focus. This is the first parcel to be planted or harvested; its owners makes all the agricultural decisions for the community, manages its primary ritual property, which includes a granary housing carved wooden gods, and the basket reliquary in which portions of consecrated sacrifices from all agricultural ceremonial rites are kept. A short distance from the cluster of dwellings is the ritual hill, usually marked by a grove of sacred betel trees round a hut or open shed where the holy men live and carry out traditional rites.

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Roselyn Santos Ko (direct swap) sent from Quezon City (Philippines) on 18.01.2014

149 ROMANIA - Historic Centre of Sighisoara (UNESCO)

Sighişoara, an example of a small fortified city in the border region between the Latin-oriented culture of central Europe and the Byzantine-Orthodox culture of south-eastern Europe, is outstanding testimony to the fast-disappearing culture of the Transylvanian Saxons. The city, which lies in the heart of Transylvania, developed on a plateau, and is dominated by a hill overlooking a bend in the river Tirnava. In the 13th century, German craftsmen and merchants, known as Saxons, were ordered by the Hungarian sovereigns to colonize Transylvania and protect the border of the Carpathians against the steppe peoples. They settled on a hill, called the City Hill, which has revealed traces of occupation going back to the Palaeolithic period. Following incursions by the Tatars in 1241, the fortified settlement was reinforced with walls, guarded by towers, later extended to surround the entire plateau. The town, known in 1280 as Castrum Sex, developed commercial activities thanks to the powerful guilds of craftsmen. Each guild was responsible for the construction of a tower and its defence. The importance of the town was recognized in 1367 when it obtained the title 'Civitas' and became the second national political entity of Transylvania. Under pressure from the Turks between 1421 and 1526, the city heightened its walls. The historic centre of Sighişoara is composed of a fortified site spread over a steeply sloping plateau and dominated by City Hill, and the Lower Town with its woody slopes lying below. These two sectors form an indissociable group corresponding to the historic boundaries of the medieval town.

Apart from 19th-century settlements, the historic centre of Sighişoara has kept its original medieval urban fabric with its detailed allotment of building plots, with some variations depending on the successive development phases of the site, as well as its network of narrow streets lined with closely aligned rows of houses. The Citadel is composed of three roads running lengthways, cut by passages at right angles. The houses, most of them the simple homes of craftsmen of two or three storeys, were built from stone or brick, covered in coloured roughcast, and topped by a high tiled roof. They have a distinctive plan, with a narrow facade along the street, an L- or U-shaped layout, dwelling tower, linked rooms, etc. The houses with compact layouts, probably the oldest ones, are characterized by a lateral vaulted entrance gallery. This entrance gallery is sometimes shared by two adjoining houses because of the small plots of land. Many of the houses still have a barrel-vaulted basement, workshops on the ground floor with a wooden ceiling or brick vault, and the living rooms on the upper floors. A few facades have a more aristocratic architectural style of Baroque inspiration. A group of houses between Citadel Lane and Hermann Oberth Square stand out because of the way the storeys have been arranged to fit the configuration of the sloping ground. A wall, 93 m long and with interval towers, encloses the Citadel plateau. The different phases of construction from the 12th to the 16th centuries can be clearly identified. It rises to a height of 8-10 m between the Ropemakers' Tower and the Butchers' Tower, the best-preserved section. Nine towers of the original 14 still stand and can be distinguished by their shapes. The imposing Clock Tower plays a special role as the symbol of the town, for it was placed under the responsibility of the city council, which held its assemblies there until 1556. Situated in the middle of the southern fortification wall, it dominates the three squares of the historic centre and protects the stairway connecting the upper town and the lower town. It now houses a museum. Notable among the monuments in the historic centre of Sighişoara is the Church of St Nicholas, an edifice typical of the Gothic architecture of Transylvania. Perched on the hill, it can be reached by a ramp staircase of 175 steps. It has been protected by a wooden roof since 1642. The decorative sculpture on the facade reflects Central European influences. The Church of St Mary belonging to the Dominican monastery, demolished in 1886, is a 13th-century Gothic monument of the hall type with bare facades. The Dominican monastery and the Coopers' Tower in the south-west of the Citadel, and the Locksmiths' Tower and Church of the Franciscan convent in the north, made way respectively for the huge neo-Renaissance style City Hall (1886-88) and the Roman Catholic Church (1894).

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Mircea Ostoia (direct swap) sent from Focsani (Romania) on 10.02.2014

148 USA - Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park (UNESCO)

Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park adjacent to Fort Yellowstone and the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District. It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution). Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas. The hot water that feeds Mammoth comes from Norris Geyser Basin after traveling underground via a fault line that runs through limestone and roughly parallel to the Norris-to-Mammoth road. The limestone from rock formations along the fault is the source of the calcium carbonate. Shallow circulation along this corridor allows Norris' superheated water to slightly cool before surfacing at Mammoth, generally at about 170 °F (80 °C). Algae living in the warm pools have tinted the travertine shades of brown, orange, red, and green. 

Thermal activity here is extensive both over time and distance. The thermal flows show much variability with some variations taking place over periods ranging from decades to days. Terrace Mountain at Mammoth Hot Springs is the largest known carbonate-depositing spring in the world. The most famous feature at the springs is the Minerva Terrace, a series of travertine terraces. The terraces have been deposited by the spring over many years but, due to recent minor earthquake activity, the spring vent has shifted, rendering the terraces dry. The Mammoth Terraces extend all the way from the hillside, across the Parade Ground, and down to Boiling River. The Mammoth Hotel, as well as all of Fort Yellowstone, is built upon an old terrace formation known as Hotel Terrace. There was some concern when construction began in 1891 on the fort site that the hollow ground would not support the weight of the buildings. Several large sink holes (fenced off) can be seen out on the Parade Ground. This area has been thermally active for several thousand years. The Mammoth area exhibits much evidence of glacial activity from the Pinedale Glaciation. The summit of Terrace Mountain is covered with glacial till, thereby dating the travertine formation there to earlier than the end of the Pinedale Glaciation. Several thermal kames, including Capitol Hill and Dude Hill, are major features of the Mammoth Village area. Ice-marginal stream beds are in evidence in the small, narrow valleys where Floating Island Lake and Phantom Lake are found. In Gardner Canyon one can see the old, sorted gravel bed of the Gardner River covered by unsorted glacial till.

147 TURKEY - Archaeological Site of Troy (UNESCO)

The archaeological site of Troy is of immense significance in the understanding of the development of European civilization at a critical stage in its early development. It is, moreover, of exceptional cultural importance because of the profound influence of Homer's Iliad on the creative arts over more than two millennia. Troy is a unique example in an Aegean context of the oriental city at the junction between Anatolia, the Aegean and the Balkans. It is also probably the most famous archaeological site in the world. It may be considered to represent the starting point for modern archaeology and its public recognition. Troy II and Troy VI in particular are characteristic examples of the ancient city, with a majestic fortified citadel enclosing palaces and administrative buildings, surrounded by an extensive lower town, also fortified. Troy is directly associated with the universally significant literary works of Homer (The Iliad) and Virgil (The Aeneid). Hellenistic tumuli were erected over the supposed burial places of these heroes, such as Achilles, Ajax, Hector, and Patroclus. Human occupation on the site of Troy began in the early Bronze Age. The first defensive wall round the citadel was built around 3000 BC. Then Troy VI expanded, making it one of the largest towns in the Aegean region with an important trading role. An earthquake in 1350 BC caused grave damage to Troy VI, but the town quickly recovered and was rebuilt in a more orderly layout. The evidence of widespread fire and slaughter around 1250 BC, which brought Troy VII to an end, has led to this phase being identified with the city besieged by the Greeks during the Trojan War, immortalized in The Iliad . The real cause of the Trojan war was intense commercial rivalry between Troy and the mercantile Mycenaean kingdom, the prize being control of the Dardanelles and the lucrative trade with the Black Sea. In 306 BC, Troy became the capital of a league of cities in the Troad and in 188 BC it was identified by the Romans as the Ilion of Homer and recognized as the mother-city of Rome (Ilium Novum). The town prospered under Roman rule and survived a severe earthquake in the early 6th century. Abandoned once again in the 9th century, it was reoccupied in the later Byzantine period and not finally deserted until well into the Ottoman period.

The contemporary history of the site and its subsequent exploration and conservation dates from 1793, when it was discovered. It was identified by scholars, first as Ilion in 1810 and then as Troy in 1820. Heinrich Schliemann first visited the site in 1868. Between then and his death in 1890 he carried out seven major campaigns, completed in 1893-94 by his assistant, Wilhelm Dörpfeld. It was in 1873 that he found the famous gold hoard, known erroneously as 'King Priam's Treasure', as it came from Troy II, not Troy VIIA. Excavations over more than a century have revealed 23 sections of the defensive walls around the citadel, eleven gates, a paved stone ramp, and the lower portions of five defensive bastions. These date for the most part from Troy II and VI; however, a section of the earliest wall (Troy I) survives near the south gate of the first defences. The great residential complex from Troy II consists of five parallel long buildings with porches (megara ). The largest of these is considered to represent the prototype of the Greek temple. The ensemble is considered to have constituted some form of palace. The remains of a number of long rectangular houses from Troy II are to be seen at the bottom of one of the most striking features off the site, the so-called Schliemann Trench, dug by the famous 19th-century excavator in search of the 'Citadel of Priam', the object of his search. The Greek and Roman cities at Troy are represented above all by the sanctuary complex. Roman urban organization is reflected by two major public buildings on the edge of the agora. The odeion (concert hall) has the traditional horseshoe-shaped plan and tiers of seats made from limestone blocks. The nearby bouleuterion (council house) is smaller but similar in plan. The surrounding landscape contains many important prehistoric and historical sites: cemeteries, Hellenistic burial mounds, Greek and Roman settlements, Roman and Ottoman bridges, etc.

146 SPAIN - Various views of the Pyrenees

 The Pyrenees, also spelled Pyrénées, is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain. It separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extends for about 491 km (305 mi) from the Bay of Biscay (Cap Higuer) to the Mediterranean Sea(Cap de Creus). For the most part, the main crest forms a massive divider between France and Spain, with the tiny country of Andorra sandwiched in between. The Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre have historically extended on both sides of the mountain range, with small northern portions now in France and much larger southern parts now in Spain.

 Conspicuous features of Pyrenean scenery are:

• the absence of great lakes, such as those that fill the lateral valleys of the Alps
• the rarity and great elevation of passes
• the large number of the mountain torrents locally called gaves, which often form lofty waterfalls, surpassed in Europe only by those of Scandinavia
• the frequency with which the upper end of a valley assumes the form of a semicircle of precipitous cliffs, called a cirque.

The highest waterfall is Gavarnie (462 m or 1,515 ft), at the head of the Gave de Pau; the Cirque de Gavarnie, in the same valley, together with the nearby Cirque de Troumouse and Cirque d'Estaubé are notable examples of the cirque formation. Low passes are lacking, and the principal roads and the railroads between France and Spain run only in the lowlands at the western and eastern ends of the Pyrenees, near sea level. Between the two ends of the range, the only passes worth mentioning are the Col de la Perche, between the valley of the Têt and the valley of the Segre, the Port d'Envalira, the highest mountain pass in the Pyrenees and one of the highest points of the European road network, and the Col de Somport or Port de Canfranc, where there were old Roman roads, but apparently, no modern highways.

The amount of precipitation the range receives, including rain and snow, is much greater in the western than in the eastern Pyrenees because of the moist air that blows in from the Atlantic Ocean over the Bay of Biscay. After dropping its moisture over the western and central Pyrenees, the air is left dry over the eastern Pyrenees. The winter average temperature is -2 °C (28.4 °F). Sections of the mountain range vary in more than one respect. There are some glaciers in the western, and especially in the snowy central, Pyrenees, but there are no glaciers in the eastern Pyrenees because there is insufficient snowfall to cause their development. Glaciers are confined to the northern slopes of the central Pyrenees, and do not descend, like those of the Alps, far down into the valleys but rather have their greatest lengths along the direction of the mountain chain. They form, in fact, in a narrow zone near the crest of the highest mountains. Here, as in the other great mountain ranges of central Europe, there is substantial evidence of a much wider expanse of glaciation during the Ice Ages. The best evidence of this is in the valley of Argeles Gazost, between Lourdes and Gavarnie, in the département of Hautes-Pyrénées. The snow-line varies in different parts of the Pyrenees from about 2,700 to 2,800 metres above sea level.

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Vero S. Aria (direct swap) sent from Huesca (Spain) on 12.07.2013

145 BELGIUM - The Flag of Belgium

The national flag of Belgium contains three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red. The colours were taken from the colours of the Duchy of Brabant, and the vertical design may be based on the flag of France. The national flag has the unusual proportions of 13:15, but is rarely seen. A flag in a 2:3 or similar ratio is used in most cases, even by most government bodies. The unusual proportions of 13:15 are of unknown origin. After the death of Charlemagne, the present-day territory of Belgium (except the County of Flanders) became part of Lotharingia, which had a flag of two horizontal red stripes separated by a white stripe. The territory then passed into Spanish hands, and after the coronation of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor yellow and red, the colours of Spain, were added. From the 16th century to the end of the 18th century, the colours of what is now Belgium were red, white and yellow. Occasionally the red cross of Burgundy was placed on the white section of the flag.

During the period of Austrian rule, a number of different flags were tried, until the Austrian Emperor imposed the Austrian flag. The population of Brussels was opposed to this, and following the example of France, red, yellow and black cockades began to appear; those being the colours of Brabant. The colours thus correspond to the red lion of Hainaut, Limburg and Luxembourg, the yellow lion of Brabant, and the black lion of Flanders and Namur. On August 26, 1830, the day after the rioting at the Brussels Opera and the start of the Belgian Revolution, the flag of France was flown from the city hall of Brussels. This was hastily replaced by a tricolour of red, yellow and black horizontal stripes made at a nearby fabric store, similar to the one used during the Brabant Revolution. As a result, Article 193 of the Constitution of Belgium describes the colours of the Belgian nation as Red, Yellow and Black instead of the order used in the above official flag. On January 23, 1831, the stripes were changed from horizontal to vertical and October 12 saw the flag attain its modern form, with the black placed at the hoist side of the flag. It is suggested that the change was to more clearly distinguish the flag of Belgium from the Dutch flag, which also has three horizontal stripes, especially important during naval battles. Some think the change to vertical was a gesture of sympathy with the French, again clearly separating them from the Dutch.

144 USA - The City of Dallas

Dallas is the ninth-largest city in the United States and the third-largest city in the state of Texas. The city's prominence arose from its historical importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries, and its position along numerous railroad lines. The bulk of the city is in Dallas County, of which it is the county seat. However, sections of the city are located in Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties. According to the 2010 United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 1,197,816. The U.S. Census Bureau's estimate for the city's population increased to 1,241,162 as of 2012. The city is the largest economic center of the 12-county region. Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area had a population of 6,700,991 as of 2012. The metropolitan economy is the sixth largest in the United States, with a 2012 real GDP of $420.34 billion. In 2013 the metropolitan area led the nation with the largest year-over-year increase in employment, and advanced to become the fourth-largest employment center in the nation (behind NYC, LA and Chicago) with more than three million non-farm jobs.

Dallas was founded in 1841 and formally incorporated as a city in February 1856. The city's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, computer technology, energy, healthcare and medical research, transportation and logistics. The city is home to the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the nation. Located in North Texas, Dallas is the main core of the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States that lacks any navigable link to the sea. It was developed because of construction of major railroad lines here; it became a hub in 1873. It was connected to Houston and other major cities that were railroad cities. It was booming by the late 19th and early 20th century, and was the world center of leather manufacture and harnessmaking. The interstate highway system in the 1950s and 1960s reinforced and consolidated Dallas' prominence. As with the railroads, east/west and north/south highways converged here. Four major interstate highways converge in the city, and a fifth interstate loops around it. Dallas developed a strong industrial and financial sector, and a major inland port, due largely to the presence of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. In the latest rankings released in 2013, Dallas was rated as a "beta plus" world city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network. Dallas is also ranked 14th in world rankings of GDP by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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Kevin Grimes (holiday card) sent from Pocatello (USA) on 02.01.2014

143 MALAYSIA - Kinabalu Park (UNESCO)

As the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea, Mount Kinabalu (4,095 m) holds a distinctive position for the biota of South-East Asia. Kinabalu is a granite intrusion formed 15 million years ago by the hardening of a mass of molten rock that rose beneath the sedimentary rocks of Borneo's Crocker Range. 1 million years ago this pluton was thrust upward by tectonic movements which continue to this day. The sandstone and shale that once covered the granite have been eroded to reveal the underlying rock. During the Pleistocene, glaciers covered Kinabalu's summit, scouring the granite plateau and sharpening the jagged peaks above the ice. The ice sheet disappeared 10,000 years ago. Since then, wind and water have sculpted the summit peaks further to create pinnacles and deep valleys. Natural vegetation covers 93% of the park with rich tropical lowland and hill rainforest (dominated by diptocarps) amounting to 35%. Tropical montane forest covers another 37% of the park with subalpine forest and evergreen scrub found at the higher elevations. Of particular conservation significance are vegetation types developed on ultramafic (serpentine) rocks. Ultramafic vegetation covers about 16% of the park and contains many species restricted to this substrate. Kinabalu has been identified as a Centre of Plant Diversity. Despite its geological youth, it is exceptionally rich in species with elements from the Himalayas, China, Australia, Malesia and Pantropical floras. The park has between 5,000-6,000 vascular plant species, 1,000 of which are orchids. It is particularly rich in Ficus (78 taxa), ferns (610 species) and Nepenthes (9 species of pitcher plant). Rafflesia, a rare parasitic plant, is also found. The mountain flora has diverse 'living fossils' such as the celery pine and the trig-oak, the evolutionary link between oaks and beeches.

The variety of Kinabalu's habitats includes 6 vegetation zones from lowland rainforest through to alpine scrub at 4,095 m. Faunal diversity is also high with the majority of Borneo's mammals, birds, amphibians and invertebrates (many threatened and vulnerable) known to occur in the park. It is clear that Kinabalu Park contains the important and significant habitats for the in-situ conservation of biological diversity. The high species diversity of Kinabalu results from a number of factors: the great altitudinal and climatic gradient from tropical forest to alpine conditions; precipitous topography causing effective geographical isolation over short distances; the diverse geology with many localized edaphic conditions, particularly the ultramafic substrates; the frequent climate oscillations influenced by El Niño events; and geological history of the Malay archipelago and proximity to the much older Crocker Range. The above processes provide ideal conditions for a diverse biota, high endemism and rapid evolutionary rates. Wildlife is also diverse with 90 species of lowland mammal and 22 others found in the montane zone. Four species of primate occur and 326 bird species have been recorded. Mount Kinabalu is thus both species-rich and an important centre for endemism. Half of all Borneo's birds, mammals and amphibian species including many rare and endangered species occur in the park. Two-thirds of all Bornean reptiles and at least half of its plant species are represented in the park.